Chamber Economic Dev. Committee Greater Rochester Enterprise

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Joleen Lewis
5 years ago
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1 1. Programs and Committees Served by the LDC Here are some of the groups at which the LDC represents the interests of Seneca Falls, in some cases, acts as the sole representative of Seneca County; IDA Chamber of Commerce SCACOT Chamber Tourism Committee Chamber Economic Dev. Committee Greater Rochester Enterprise FLCC Geneva Campus Comm. County Planning Department Creative Core of Syracuse Cayuga Wine Trail Seneca Falls Hist. Preservation Bd Seneca Falls Business Association Finger Lakes Museum Comm. Workforce Investment Board Farmer s Market Federation of NY Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm Bureau Seneca Wine Trail NY State Wine and Grape Growers NYS Department of Ag and Markets Canal Corporation of NY Finger Lakes Advanced Manfctring Ent. Seneca Falls School District Genesee/FL Regional Planning Cncl Department of Housing and Community Renewal (Main Street Grant) Genesee Regional Transportation Commission

2 2. Background: In 2005 the Town and Village of Seneca Falls began to explore the opportunity to collaborate on developing and administering a Local Development Corporation. The intent is presented in this point taken from our economic development agreement with JGB Properties on behalf of the Hotel Clarence; 1. The Town and the Village of Seneca Falls (the "Village") have caused SFDC to be incorporated for the purposes of the planning and implementation of programs, projects and activities designed to create or stimulate economic and community development in the Village and Town, thereby reducing the burden of government in many ways, including: A. Creating employment opportunities for the Village and Town residents, particularly those employment positions that pay a living wage, offer health, retirement, and other employee benefits, and provide skills training; B. Increasing the property tax base of the Village and Town; C. Increasing sales tax revenues in the Village and Town; D. Encouraging and fostering entrepreneurship; E. Strengthening and expanding existing businesses; F. Bringing new businesses into the Village and Town; G. Revitalizing downtown and other commercial shopping areas; H. Stimulating tourism growth; I. Encouraging the environmental remediation and reuse of contaminated property; J. Promoting the development of land use policies designed to encourage development and preserve Village and Town neighborhoods; and K. Encouraging and supporting the development and maintenance of municipal infrastructure, recreational facilities, and other public facilities and services that support businesses and residential neighborhoods.

3 3. Businesses Served by the LDC This is a partial list of businesses and business concerns with whom we have met concerning their individual business, partnering opportunities, or to answer questions regarding current events here in Seneca Falls. Barristar s B & B Hotel Clarence First Niagara Bank ITT/Gould s Happy Family Restaurant Parker s Franklin Hotel Downtown Deli Bank of America Blossoms Montezuma Winery Logan & Company FingerLakes 1 Bonadent Seneca Transit Services Seneca Falls Heritage Area Visitors Center Women s Interfaith Institute Senecayuga Realty Micro Tel Copper Beacon B & B ZuZu s Café New York Chiropractic College Bull s Run Ale House Waterloo Container Sinicropi Florist Seneca Falls Savings Bank Waterloo Premium Outlets Opera Block Owners (Stancorp Financial) Seneca Falls Historical Society Seneca Meadows Academy Square Robinette Jewelers National Women s Hall of Fame Seneca Knit Development Corporation Idea Center for Humanity Malone Rivers/Century 21 Realty

4 4) Programs in place a. Seneca Falls Farmer s Market With weekly visitors, the Farmer s Market has brought people to discover People s Park and build foot traffic in the Village. In the three years of operation our critical achievements include; Enhancing the relationship with ITT and the NY Chiropractic College through the use of coupons and employee communication regarding the market resulting in more employee awareness and a direct line of communications to senior management of this company Enhanced relationship with Cornell Cooperative Extension who co-sponsors the event and is integral to the coordinating efforts of county agricultural business. Built relationship with the Farmer s Market Federation whose annual conference was held in Seneca Falls in March of 2010 resulting in 80+ visitors, 300+ meals and hotel nights during the event and an additional 100+ hotel nights and meals in subsequent visits. The market has grown each year adding another element of prestige and prominence for Seneca Falls, and a reason to make the town a destination during summer Wednesdays. b. Seneca Wine Tour The creation of the Seneca Wine Tour is the envy of many communities in the Finger Lakes and statewide as we can authoritatively claim to be the Only Public Bus Service to Wineries in the Nation. This grant funded program has grown each year and resulted in; visitors to Seneca Falls over 2+ years of operation Room nights and reservations at B & B s and hotels directly attributable to the existence of the Seneca Wine Tour. Meals served to customers before and after their wine tour experience. Enhanced the relationship between this community and the wineries of Seneca County who are responsible for over a million annual visitors a year to our area. Also the visitors who came as a result of the Wine Tour helped to stabilize or grow winery business. Because of the wine tour and the research performed in support of the Wine Tour we uncovered the fact that Seneca County has 30+ wineries, the largest concentration of wineries in the state, and possibly the nation. This fact is now being touted in our tourism communication and used by businesses to attract visitors.

5 5) Ongoing Elements a. Alternative Energy Exploration Have initiated conversations between the school district and Seneca Meadows to explore practical applications of methane powered power generation for the community and school district. This is a continuing project which is being explore don the County level as well. b. Grant Management and Exploration Have serviced, are servicing or have applied for the following grants; a. Department of Ag & Markets Agri-Tourism Grant Was awarded $49,050 to build the Seneca Wine Tour. Also consulted with Cornell Cooperative Extension on their Agri-Tourism Grant to develop farm guide for Seneca County. b. Responsible for Member Item disbursements in support of Ludovico Sculpture Trail and Women s Interfaith Institute from Senator Mike Nozzolio. c. Main Street Grant Program Acting as Local Program Administrator for the completion of the 2007 grant program. The LDC was instrumental in reinvigorating this grant program and in assisting property owners and County personnel in completing this grant process. In addition, the LDC is acting as administrator in the application for 2010 funding through Main Street. d. CDBG Funding Development Although yet to be presented, we have a commitment to continue disbursements of CDBG funding in support of local businesses and the community. As the LDC we are able to act as a funding agent on behalf of the Town to disburse funds to local property owners. e. In addition, there are several grant program in which the LDC acted as primary or sole applicant which failed to receive funding. Nevertheless, the LDC uncovered, researched and built the grant applications where necessary. c. Business Support and Recruitment Develop mailings and communications dedicated to retail development of the main business district. a. Revise supporting literature for Deer Run Park. b. Explore additional space opportunities within the community. d. Website Development The LDC has secured the ownership of the URL web address and has begun production on content to attract new business. In addition we have been responsible for updating current information on local, county and affiliated business sites. e. Advertising Initiatives The LDC has made overtures to Economic Development publications to build proposals for advertising both freestanding and in conjunction with other local ED organizations. a. Support Retail Advertising The LDC participates in the local co-op advertising program for SF businesses to help lower costs and increase impact for the community advertising programs. The Town is precluded from this activity by law. b. Media Interface Brought USA Today to SF to cover the It s A Wonderful Life connection; got coverage for the Seneca Wine Tour in Insider Magazine; working with Rochester Democrat & Chronicle on agricultural tourism support piece. c. Seneca County Tourism Guide Secured back cover of this publication which is circulated throughout the country and into Canada with a business building message. Over 90,000 circulated and we received this premium position at no premium charge.

6 6) Event Support, Coordination and Assistance The LDC has given financial, material or personnel support to these events during the past three years; Special Olympics Classic Car Show Women s Dialogues Weekend Cycling the Erie Neighborhood Arts Fest Convention Days NWHOF Induction Weekend Bonton Roulet It s a Wonderful Life Celebration Cork & Fork Celebration (October 2010) These events have or will bring over 10,000 visitors a year into the community supporting local businesses and enhancing the image of our community.

7 7) Future Plans In addition to the programs which we have presented as ongoing, we anticipate several additional elements to come into play in the coming months as we continue to refine and expand the economic development of Seneca Falls. Specifically we would like to discuss and review these ideas in greater detail with the Board; A Revision to the Strategic Plan A strategic plan, by its very nature, must be a living document and, as such must constantly be reviewed and updated. We propose that at 5 years, it is now time to revisit our plan and to do so using Bob Buccieri who is an experienced Planner having written or edited strategic plans for major corporations, small retailers and public service organizations. B Local Shopping Initiatives We wish to explore and develop a shop local campaign to promote the business and welfare of local, independent, single owner operator businesses. We see several opportunities in this area; a. Shop Local website Coordinating efforts among local businesses to develop web presence including Twitter, Face book and dedicated website as well as combined group site to allow for greater visibility, promotion and development of programs b. Shop Local Ad Campaign Develop graphic standards and overall campaign to appear in local press and as a unifying element to local advertising. C CDBG Programming We are investigating the possibility of acting as an agent of the Town to disperse and regulate CDBG funding for community improvement. There are several aspects of fund usage (including business support and community beautification) which cannot be used directly by the Town but could be executed in partnership with the LDC. D Consolidation Assistance While the elements of the Village/Town consolidation are currently under assessment, we are confident that the LDC would be a useful element for the process. We expect to explore this opportunity with the Town and Village and develop useful and practical outcomes for this process. E Marketing Plan Development Create unified message, consistent look and overall message strategy to promote and present the community of Seneca Falls to new prospects in both Tourism and Economic Development. This will entail several elements including graphics guidelines, media plan, budget plan and strategic overview, among others.

Snohomish County Strategic Tourism Plan Snohomish County Office of Economic Development

Snohomish County Strategic Tourism Plan Snohomish County Office of Economic Development T O U R I S M I N D U S T R Y S N A P S H O T Snohomish County has the 3 rd largest tourism market in Washington